No, he’s not but there’s no telling that to his legion of fanboys here.
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- Thread starter mnorwood
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Of course he doesn’t. That was sarcasm.
Aren't all of these "top player" lists pretty subjective? What makes your opinion better?
How did I say it was better? It’s my opinion that is derived as a “evaluation of horse flesh” if you will but that evaluation is what formulates my opinion, not fanboy adoration like others.
Sorry for my poor choice of words. Forget "better", how about "more accurate"?
Today's top players have changed one pocket into a different game. In the old days, when balls weren't run as easily as today, there were more battels in every rack. Those with a lot of one pocket knowledge had a bigger advantage than today. Now, you might see a pro one pocket specialist execute a shot their opponent doesn't know or wouldn't have thought of once every 5 or 6 racks. In short, that quote above from Gorst about not knowing what to do doesn't happen very often, and when it does, he'll just push out somewhere and take the intentional. Once he gets his chance, he'll get that ball back pretty effortlessly.
Along those same lines, Shane has an interesting one pocket strategy; he doesn't even try to do anything really fancy, risky, or creative. He doesn't need to. And despite his shot making ability, he doesn't even play that aggressively. He tends to shoot the simplest, lowest risk shot. When it's his turn to run balls though, he does that better than most. That boring, vanilla style has suited him fairly well for someone that doesn't play or enjoy one pocket.
Geez, there's someone who donated called Rick Glasscock.
Why don’t we make this easy. Ask Shane if he thinks he’s one of top 4 1P players in the world. Perhaps if he told you he isn’t that would appease you.
i don’t doubt anything you said, especially the painting himself into a corner part. I still think the manner in which Tony came across is disgustingly classless. Some people don’t mind it. More power to them
I'm not sure I agree with your thought about difficult puzzles not coming up often and when they do the solution being a push out.
Having watched many of Alex's matches he really does -- frequently -- put his opponent in spots where it takes deep 1pocket knowledge and skill to escape the trap without selling out.
Lou Figueroa
Point the binoculars towards a crap table. 🫣
Shane likes to gamble.
Well, I guess he might not like it but he does it.
I don't give a crap either way. You just come off like the all-knowing expert on the subject and I wanted to know why. You think anyone who considers SVB top 5 is a "fanboy". The people on the other side of the debate would consider you a "hater". It can't and won't be proven either way, so why all the dialogue? For the record, I won't play anyone in the top 500 without a spot.
I guess it depends on your definition of "frequently". I posted a race to 3 between Alex and Gorst somewhere in this thread. Out of all the maneuvering in that race to three, I didn't see Alex put Gorst in any more or better traps than Gorst put him into. I'm sure that knowledge can only help, all I'm saying is it may not make as much a difference as many believe. Look at the final three at the derby; lots of one pocket specialists in that tournament but the three with the highest FR were the ones that made it through.
The biggest mistake one pocket specialists make is playing without a shot clock! Case in point, was Frost playing Orcullo years ago. Frost would come to the table and almost immediately know what to do. Then Orcullo would step to the table and stare at it forever, drawing upon his years of experience, he would consider every conceivable shot. He'd eventually find something. Once he landed upon that strategy is was over. The knowledge advantage is greatly nullified without a shot clock.
The other thing is -- the game is way way harder to play mentally if you're a mere mortal because your shot percentages are so much lower. Calculating the value of shooting a 70% makeable shot is way different than calculating a 95% plus shot. This is why the truly world class players can adapt to the game so fast -- they can shoot at so many more shots.
Not saying he doesn’t gamble and I don’t know his true feelings. I know he has publicly denounced it, which may factor if and when he does.Point the binoculars towards a crap table. 🫣
Shane likes to gamble.
Well, I guess he might not like it but he does it.
If they know each other, no prob. All in good fun.
Sometimes that's what it takes, just not my style. Like to listen tho... Lol.